Marie Corelli was born in England. She was the illegitimate daughter of the Scottish poet Charles Mackey and his servant. Marie was sent to a Parisian convent for her education. Ardath was one of Corelli's weirdest stories. The hero is in love with a supernatural angel. Since he is not yet worthy of a union with her, he travels back 7000 years to a fantastic world where his transformations allow him to experience numerous adventures. Ardath like most of Corelli's writings has been criticized for being melodramatic and over written. For other readers this over dramatic writing style gives the work character and makes it an enjoyable book to read.